Lab

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration

search

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin, MCHC, MCH

  • Background
  1. Not as useful as other indices for Anemia Evaluation
  2. More useful indices
    1. Hemoglobin or Hematocrit
    2. Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)
    3. Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW)
  • Calculations
  1. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH)
    1. MCH = (10 x Hemoglobin) / (Red Blood Cell Count)
  2. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC)
    1. MCHC = (Hemoglobin x 100) / (Hematocrit)
  • Interpretations
  1. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH)
    1. Normal: >30 pg/cell
    2. Abnormal: <30 pg/cell
      1. Suggests abnormal Hemoglobin synthesis
  2. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC)
    1. Normal: 28 - 33%
    2. Low (< 28%): Iron Deficiency Anemia
    3. High (> 33%): Spherocytosis or unstable Hemoglobin